Distance Metrics in the Internet

Bradley Huffaker

Marina Fomenkov

Daniel Plummer

David Moore

kc claffy

CAIDA, San Diego Supercomputer Center, University of California San Diego

We consider and compare four Internet distance metrics and
analyze the predictive power of these metrics in selecting, from a given
source, the lowest latency destination from among a candidate set. The four
metrics are: IP path length; autonomous system (AS) path length; great circle
geographic distance; and previously measured round trip time (RTT).
We describe general properties of these four metrics and, using an unprecedented
volume of real Internet macroscopic topology and RTT data, compare
their correlation with actual RTT to the destination. The new methodology
we propose for testing different metrics is suitable for evaluating new
distance estimation techniques as they become available.